Little Miss Curtis
by ScorpionCyclone555
Summary: "You just brought your 4 year old daughter into the donut shop for an after school snack and she is absolutely adorable. I don't usually do this, but here's a free donut."


2:30

That was the time displayed on the large clock over the counter, just another few hours until she could escape the hellhole referred to as a donut shop. It was only Happy working on that particular Tuesday because Susie just HAD to go on that date with whats-his-face that she wouldn't shut up about. The day was filled with grumpy-old men coming in for a coffee and a muffin, along with tired mothers with bouncy children asking for every donut they served. Not to mention the creepy stalker dude who came in every day and just sat in the corner to watch her. She's not sure if he was homeless or if he just liked staring at random people in a donut shop.

Happy's job was to take the order, make the coffee, and serve the donuts. That was it. No interacting with customers, no leaving the counter, which in the long run would result in some sort of greeting while she attempted to rush back behind the register to take the order. All of that was Susie's job, and Susie was not there, which left a pissed off Happy taking an old woman's order who couldn't seem to decide what god-forsaken donut she wanted.

"Um, no… I think I will take the chocolate glazed. Wait… which one is better? Glazed or chocolate glazed?" she asked, looking over towards Happy for her opinion. She was met with an irritated frown and flaring nostrils as she tried to keep her cool.

"Personally I hate donuts, so would you just pick one and let me take the order of the person behind you?" It was beginning to test her nerves, it always tested her nerves, but for some reason her nerves seemed extra sensitive today.

"Oh dearie, you're always so grumpy. What can an old woman do to put a smile on such a pretty face?" Happy frowned even more at the comment if even possible and sat with her shoulders slumped as the older woman looked back at the rack of donuts displayed behind her.

"I do agree ma'am," the guy waiting behind the old lady spoke up, "I think she would be much more happy if she'd just smile. Say… I think if you got to know me a bit more I could put a smile on that face of yours."

The old woman seemed to glow when she heard the young man beginning to flirt with Happy, as if she was living her life through Happy at that very moment, while Happy just glared at the cocky man. This is exactly why she did not do small talk. She grabbed a chocolate glazed donut, stuffed it in a paper bag and handed it to the lady while taking her money, all while ignoring the young man. His grin never seemed to drop and his eyes never seemed to leave her. His hair was brown and curly and he was annoyingly tall while he looked down at her.

The old lady gave one last look back before taking a seat at one of the tables by the window.

"What can I get for you?" Happy asked, in the most polite tone she could muster.

"I was hoping for an order of you to go, but I'm afraid it isn't on the menu," he said with a playful frown as he leaned his body on the counter. His hand went to his hair as his irritating grin returned to his face. Happy didn't even know what to say, it was beyond easy to insult him after what he just said.

"That was the worst pick-up line I have ever heard. Does that usually work for you?" she asked, and the man laughed and smiled at her.

"I don't know that was the first time I used it. So you tell me, did it work?"

"No," was her curt reply as she stuffed a random donut into a paper bag. She probably would have spit all over it if he wasn't looking, "Now go away."

Before he left the counter he slid a business card over to her with a grin. She glanced down and it read 'Bobby T. Buster' and she tried her hardest not to laugh out loud as he walked off.

After the two left she cleaned up around her work space while the mop boy, as she called him, cleaned off the rest of the tables. It was only 3:00, only half an hour! She didn't know how much more of this she could take, she might have to start looking for a new job soon, because this was becoming way too much of a hassle. She leaned against the counter and rested her head on her hands, in hopes nobody else would be hoping for a donut on this particular day for the next two hours. She heard the bell chime, signaling another customer had walked in and she inwardly groaned.

"Daddy! Daddy! I want chocolate with sprinkles!" She heard a high-pitched voice from the direction of the entrance and she looked up from her hands to see a tall man and a young girl no older than four. The oversized fedora sitting atop her head slipped down in front of her eyes and she reached up to push it up out of the way as she reached for her father's hand.

"Alright sweetheart. Whatever you want," he answered with a sweet smile before making eye contact with Happy. He gave her a small smile and then looked up at the board above her head.

The little girl bounced around her father's legs, while her long brown pigtails bounced along with her. Happy couldn't help but smile when she heard the excited giggle emit from her mouth as she looked up towards Happy. Her eyes widened and her giggling ceased as she continued to stare up at Happy, which worried her just a little bit. The little girl reached up to tug on her father's shirt and she pointed at Happy.

"Look Daddy, isn't she pretty. I want to be that pretty when I grow up," she said, grinning widely up at him.

"Yes sweetheart she's gorgeous," he said, smiling down at her and then looking up to send a wink towards Happy. The wink she could have done without, but she felt touched by the little girl's words. She smiled and looked down at her.

"Thanks kid, what's your name?" Happy asked, smiling for probably the first time that day.

"My name is Riley Curtis!" she states proudly, puffing out her chest just a bit, whilst the hat falls in her face, frizzing up her hair in the process. While she fixes it, Happy places a chocolate glazed donut with sprinkles in the paper bag.

"Well Little Miss Curtis, I don't usually do this, but here's a free donut."

Riley's eyes widen as Happy holds the bag out to her and she looks up at her father for approval. He nods his head with a smile and she gently takes the bag from Happy with a grin. She bounces towards one of the tables facing a window as the man steps directly in front of the register, holding out a 5 dollar bill.

"Thanks for doing that, she had a pretty tough day at school today. I think what you just did lifted her spirits a little bit," he says with a smile. Happy doesn't take the money and shakes her head.

"Like I said, I don't usually do that, but she's pretty polite, you're doing a pretty decent job raising her." She says with an affirmative nod and letting her smile fade back to an emotionless frown. She sees the man close his eyes and shake his head before redirecting his attention to her, letting that sweet smile form on his face again. He seemed tired and stressed, something was definitely wrong and she hoped it had nothing to do with Riley, she already had taken a liking to her.

"Again, thank you"

It wasn't too long before Happy saw Riley and her father again. Only a few days after their first encounter.

It was much like the first time they met. Her head was swimming as she laid it down on the table to attempt and let the day's stress wash right over her. She heard the bell chime and she looked up to see a little girl in an oversized fedora, the same little girl that had lifted her spirits earlier that week. She was struggling to hold the door open while she called out behind her for her father to hurry up.

"Hurry, hurry Daddy!" she yelled, jumping a little for emphasis. When he passed by her at the door he smiled and lifted the hat from her head to place it on his own. She jumped up to try and stop him, but he just stuck out his tongue at her and placed it on his head anyway. When Riley spotted Happy at the counter her face split into a wide grin and she ran up to the register.

"Hi!" she squealed excitedly, jumping on the balls of her feet. She liked to jump it seemed. Happy smiled down at her, because she is already making her day feel better.

"Hey there Miss Riley. How was school?" she asked, leaning her body against the counter.

Riley's eyes widened comically again and she seemed even more giddy.

"You remembered my name?!" she cried happily.

"How could I ever forget you?" Happy asked in faux surprise as she continued to grin down at the young girl, "do you want another chocolate donut with sprinkles?"

"Yes please," she said, nodding her head happily as Happy reached behind her to grab the donut from the rack. She put it in the paper bag and handed it down to Riley.

"Thank you so much. Nobody at school believed me when I said I was friends with the lady at the donut shop, but I don't care because you and I already know." She said, skipping off to find the seat she was going to eat her snack at.

Her father tapped his fingers on the counter as he looked over at Happy.

"I know this will come to a surprise to you, but you are probably one of her only friends. Every day she would ask me if we were going to go to the donut shop to see you. She has a special liking for you," he said, pulling out $5 from his wallet, yet she declined again.

"My boss couldn't care less if I gave away 100 free donuts a day. Sometimes I wonder if he's just a lazy rich guy or an idiot, either way, giving away one free donut is not going to hurt this place." She answered.

The man sighed and stuffed the bill in his pocket, he shook his head and looked up at her with a warm smile and Happy noticed how exhausted he looked when he let his face relax. There were bags under his eyes, and his face was a bit flushed, the lines on his face that showed proof of a constant frown and creased brows.

"Are you okay, you seem a little tired. Can I get you a coffee?" She asked. She had no idea why she was being so nice and considerate, maybe because the man didn't go the extra mile to piss her off and he also seemed to be trying so hard with his daughter, it was something that Happy respected him for.

"No, I've just been working a lot. I'm actually on my lunch break right now," he said, running a hand down his face and turning around to find Riley to make sure she was okay then checking the watch on his wrist.

"At 3:00 in the afternoon?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yep. It was either get off at 12 and eat my lunch alone, or eat lunch while I'm working so I can get a little time off at 2:50 to pick up that lunatic and spend some time with her," he said with a grin, and jutting his thumb behind him, towards the little girl making a huge mess with the chocolate glazed donut.

"That's nice of you to do with your daughter," Happy said, taking a rag from under the counter and wiping down some excess crumbs that had fallen earlier.

"Thank you," he said, "before I go though, could I get your name."

Happy debated on whether she should give the stranger her name, it wouldn't hurt anything, but then again it might.

"Happy Quinn," she answered before she could change her mind.

"Nice to meet you Happy, my name is Toby. Hope to see you soon," he said with a smile, before taking a few napkins and walking over to Riley and cleaning off all of the chocolate from her face. When they left Riley yelled across the shop to say bye and waving happily as she did so, and Happy waved back without a second thought.

Both Toby and Riley came in every day after that at exactly 3:00 every day and every time Riley became sweeter and sweeter. Happy actually began to look forward to going to work, not for the annoying customers, but for the chance to see the two of them for about 5 minutes out of her crappy day. It always made it a bit worth while. Every time they would come in, Riley would have on her father's hat, she seemed to adore it and she would grin widely at Happy while calling out to her. There was rarely other customers when they came in, so it was basically the three of them besides Susie working in the back and maybe the mop boy cleaning off the tables.

Everyday Riley would get a free chocolate glazed donut with sprinkles from Happy. Then Toby would sneak a little money into the tip jar, to pay for the donut and for a thank you since Happy wouldn't willingly take it from him. It became an uplifting routine in Happy's life, one of the first and she had no idea why she was attached to the two of them so much. Either way, she enjoyed having them around and by the time the weekend would roll around she was missing them dearly, especially Little Miss Curtis who was always in such a good mood.

That weekend Happy was shopping for some new clothes because it seemed every time she went into her closet her collection of clothes seemed to grow smaller, so here she was, shopping. No dresses, no skirts, just some jeans and a few t-shirts and tank tops. She had picked a few good outfits out and was on the way to the register to pay for the clothes and get the heck out of there when something to the side caught her eye. It was a kid sized fedora that looked ridiculously close to the one always atop Riley's head instead of her father's. She laughed to herself and picked it up from the rack to hold in her hands, it was basically identical. She would know, she spent a lot of time staring menacingly at that hat, especially when it was on Toby's head, she didn't like it on his head, it was adorable on Riley though and that's why she decided to buy it.

On Monday, Happy was getting ready for work and she had the little blue gift bag sitting at the table so she wouldn't forget it. She made sure it was blue because little Riley emphasized the fact that her favorite color was definitely blue. She waited patiently all day, tried to control her temper and attempt to be at least polite to the customers that showed up that day. She was a little more sympathetic for the mothers who had basically 10 children screaming around them and she was a little more patient with the old lady who seemed to be slowly losing her mind. She waited until the clock hit 3:00 and she couldn't wipe the excited grin off her face. She glanced back at the kitchen to be sure the little blue bag was where she left it and she waited. Waited for an hour, two hours, almost three for two of her favorite people to show up, but they didn't. She kept taking orders and kept making coffee, but every chance she got she'd glance out the window just to be sure that the old Monte Carlo wasn't parked outside. It was probably the first time in two weeks that Riley didn't show up and she tried her best to convince herself that she wasn't disappointed or worried.

This went on for three more days. She waited every day at 3:00 and they never showed, she wasn't worried, of course she wasn't. It was completely normal for someone not to show up at a donut shop daily even if they were friends with the person who worked there. They probably went on vacation and didn't bother to tell her, or Toby had decided it wasn't good for a 4 year old to be having a donut every day after school, or maybe he just wasn't in a position to get off work in time to take Riley to the shop. There were plenty of reasons why they didn't show.

She was so caught up with her thinking she didn't even notice the time on the clock. It was 3:00 and sure enough there was a little chime as the door swung open and an excited squeal as the little girl bounded into the shop.

"Happy!" she cried, trying to climb over the counter to give the older woman a hug. Toby boosted her up a bit and she scrambled towards the other side and wrapped her arms tightly around Happy's neck. Happy returned the gesture and slowly wrapped her own arms around her back. Riley reached her hand back and called out to her father.

"Come on Daddy, group hug!" She called with a wide grin, pulling Toby towards them. He laughed and picked her up off the counter and balanced her on his hip. She fixed the hat on her head and blew the hair out of her face before grinning again at Happy.

"I'm so sorry we didn't come to see you Happy. I got really sick and Daddy said it wouldn't be good for me if I ate sugar while I was sick so we couldn't come," she said with a disappointed pout and Happy inwardly laughed at how silly she had been the past few days about them not showing, "I really missed you," Riley said one last time with an affirmative nod.

"She did," Toby agreed, "all she talked about was coming to see you," he looked over at her with a playful glint in his eye as he gently bounced Riley resting on his hip while she sucked her thumb. Toby reached over to remove it from her mouth with a sigh.

"Come on sweetheart, you have been doing so good about that," he said. She pouted and she let her head fall to his shoulder, which then lead to the fedora falling off her head and to the floor.

"My hat!" She cried, scrambling to get out of Toby's arms, but he didn't let go. Instead, he reached down, picked it up and placed it on his own head, much to Happy's disappointment.

"You mean my hat," he corrected, setting her down on the tile next to him as she tried to reach for the hat on his head, but Happy interrupted with a smile.

"That reminds me, I found something for you while I was out shopping the other day and I thought you might like it," she said, her lips quirking up at the corners at the excited expression on Riley's face.

"Really? What is it?" she asked, looking at everything in the shop to try and spot her present.

"Let me go get it," she said before spinning on her heels and disappearing into the kitchen. She grabbed the little blue gift bag she had brought with her every day for the past 3 days and turned back around to head to the register. "I made sure to wrap it in blue because it's your favorite color."

Riley greedily grabs for the gift and pulls out all of the tissue paper, making quite a mess on the tile flooring. Her eyes widen when she spots what's on the bottom and her whole body seems to shake as if it's about to explode, and it basically does. The most high-pitched squeal emits from the small person as she jumps around in excitement, hugging the gift bag to her chest as she does so.

"Let Daddy see what you got," Toby says, squatting to her level and reaching out to take the bag, but Riley holds it out of his reach and grabs what's inside and places it proudly on her head before dropping the bag carelessly to the ground.

"We match!" She cried, gesturing to both their hats wildly, "I have a hat just like Daddy's and it fits perfectly."

Happy can't help but be proud about her awesome gift picking skills, as she watches Riley jump around from table to table in excitement. Thankfully there wasn't many people around.

Toby turns to her, wearing a wide smile, in a way similar to Riley's.

"There goes my idea for a Christmas present. Thanks a lot," he jokes and Happy laughs at him.

"No problem, it was my pleasure."


End file.
